The present invention is directed to a clamp adapter, and, more particularly, to a clamp adapter which allows a frame on a frame vehicle to be securely connected to a clamp designed for attachment to a pinch weld of a unibody vehicle.
Years ago, virtually all vehicles were built upon frames having substantially tubular or channel-type construction. Some vehicles, including some SUV""s and full-size cars, as well as most trucks, are still built using frames today. Equipment designed for working on frame vehicles, such as collision frame straightening equipment, are designed with clamps adapted to secure the frame to the equipment. In more modern times, most passenger vehicles are formed with unibody construction and are provided with pinch welds. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that equipment designed to work on unibody vehicles, such as unibody straightening equipment, is typically provided with clamps which, when tightened, secure the vehicle to the unibody straightening equipment. For example, the devices disclosed in Applicant""s prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,644,946 and 5,910,186 show a unibody frame straightening device with clamps designed for attachment to a unibody. Since certain vehicles, made by the Honda/Acura companies are designed for attachment to pinch welds which extend both vertically and horizontally, the inventor of the invention disclosed herein also provided a Honda clamp as taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,182,493 and 6,216,524.
From the present description, those skilled in the art will appreciate that there are times when it would be convenient for an auto body repair facility which already has equipment adapted for use on a unibody vehicle to be able to use that equipment on a vehicle comprising a frame construction. If the equipment in such person""s facility only comprises clamps adapted for unibodies, the technician or shop owner is faced with the obstacle of securing the vehicle to the equipment. Doing so can present an obstacle since clamps designed for attachment to the pinch weld of a unibody vehicle are not designed to be secured to the frame of a frame vehicle.
It would, therefore, be desirable to provide an adapter for securing the frame of a frame vehicle to a pinch weld-type clamp.
The various embodiments of the present invention are designed to provide adapters which allow secure connection of a frame of a frame-type vehicle to a pinch weld-type clamp on a device such as a unibody/frame straightening device.
One embodiment of the present invention comprises a first section having an elongated rigid protrusion extending from a base. The elongated rigid protrusion is adapted to be secured in a pinch weld clamp. A second portion of the adapter is provided with a clamp for securing a frame thereto.
Another embodiment of the present invention comprises a mechanism for adjusting the height of the frame securing portion in order to provide additional height adjustability for the technician when attaching the frame of the vehicle to the piece of equipment.
These and other embodiments of the present invention are described below.